Beauty and The Beast
by PadfootObsessed329
Summary: As a child, Draco Malfoy wanders muggle London and learns a very important lesson from book described by a Muggle girl. Years later, Draco express to his Beauty his gratitude and his desire to no longer be the Beast. ONESHOT


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. I write for my own enjoyment.

Just a little idea that came to be while sitting through organic chem. I hope you enjoy.

**Beauty and The Beast**

Draco Malfoy was no ordinary boy. While many young children his age were in awe of Diagon Alley, Draco was merely bored. In his eight short years of life, he had seen the magical shopping community so often that it no longer held any interest for him. Sure the treats and joke shop products were enjoyable, but he could enjoy such items without actually finding the shops exciting and entertaining.

Like always, he was on a shopping trip with his mother. His father considered shopping for everyday items beneath him. He only traveled to Diagon Alley when it was absolutely necessary and never with Draco. He said Draco was a distraction and couldn't be bothered to take the boy with him. As it was, his mother often left him by himself with a little money and made him promise not to wonder out of the magical community.

However, Draco Malfoy was a very cunning child. Add in a little boredom and Draco Malfoy often found himself in places he wasn't allowed. Today, Draco decided he was going to leave Diagon Alley. He would simply follow someone through The Leaky Cauldron and into the muggle world. His parents had often talked about muggles. They were stupid. They were evil. They had no purpose in the world. Today, Draco decided he wanted to see muggles. He wanted to see how stupid and evil they really were.

Draco waited until a family with other children were headed into the Leaky Cauldron. As they past, Draco joined their little group and continued walking at their pace. No one noticed him and as they exited The Leaky Cauldron and entered muggle London, Draco went his separate way. He instantly recognized many differences between this world and his own. The buildings were the same and the people looked normal, but there were machines he had never seen before. Big objects with wheels sped by him, some making loud noises while others were quiet. There were lights that changed and the objects obeyed in a manner that Draco couldn't understand. Everywhere there was noises and music. He didn't understand muggles and their weird contraptions. He thought about leaving this strange world and returning to the comfort of his own, but quickly decided against it. His parents never let him enter the muggle world. If he didn't explore now, it might be years before he got a second chance.

Draco walked down the street, observing muggles as they passed. He thought he would be able to see a difference between muggles and himself. He was told they were bad. His father had said they weren't even human. Draco didn't understand. Muggles looked the same as wizards. What was so different? They were friendly. A couple had even smiled at him as he walked by. They didn't seem evil, but they had to be. His father and mother wouldn't lie to him.

Spying a park, Draco hurried towards it. There was a park that his mother sometimes took him to in the wizarding world. It seemed that these two worlds at least had one thing in common. As he entered the park, he watched as children played on equipment that was both familiar and foreign to him. There were swings and slides that he often played on, but this park also had other objects that were tall, spun, children climbed or swung from. They also didn't have toy brooms. He was headed towards the unfamiliar equipment when a little girl around his age caught his eye. She wasn't playing like the other children. Instead, she was curled up on a bench, fully captivated by the book in her hands. Changing his direction, Draco headed towards her.

"Hello" Draco said as he stood in front of her.

"Hello." The girl replied as she looked up. "Would you like to sit?"

Draco nodded his head, and the girl scooted over to give him more room. She was about to return to her book, when Draco interrupted her. "What are you reading?"

"It's called Beauty and the Beast. Have you heard of it?" She asked as she marked her page and closed the book.

Draco shook his head no, wondering how a book could incorporate a beauty and a beast as main characters. It didn't seem logical that they should be in the same story. A beast was a bad, evil creature that should never grace the presence of a beauty.

"It's a love story mostly, but it involves magic."

"Magic? Like spells?" Draco asked, dumbfounded. Muggles knew of magic? He thought they weren't suppose to know about wizards and witches.

"Of course. You see, there is this beast that keeps the beauty captive in his home. He falls in love with her, but doesn't think that they beauty could ever love him because of his hideousness. He was wrong though. The beauty does love him and when she expresses her love for him, he changes into a handsome prince."

"Why did he change?" Draco asked.

"It was magic. He was cursed by an evil fairy. Only his true love could break the spell." The girl answered with a smile.

"But how could the beauty love the beast? Beasts are evil creatures. No one should love them." Draco asked, trying to understand this story.

"The beast wasn't evil. Not really. Sometimes he pretended to be evil because he was afraid. He was afraid the beauty would reject him if he told her he loved her. He was just afraid to get hurt."

"But Beauty loved him?"

"She did. Not at first, but she later realized he was afraid of getting hurt. She saw a change in him and fell in love. It didn't matter that he was a beast because they loved each other. Beauty would have loved him even if he didn't change back into a man." Hermione replied.

Draco nodded, finally understanding the story. It seemed quite interesting, for a love story. He wondered if he would be able to get a copy of it somewhere in the wizarding world. "Do you read about magic often?"

"Oh, yes. I love magic. I just wish it really existed." the girl answered excitedly.

Draco was about to comment back, when he was interrupted by a short skinny woman that slightly resembled to girl next to him.

"Hermione, honey, its time to go." The woman said as she waited for her daughter to gather her belongings. After saying a quick goodbye to Draco, the girl left with her mother. Draco became so involved in his thoughts that he didn't realize the girl had come back until she poked his shoulder and thrust the book at him.

"Here. I've read it so many times already. I thought you would like to read it."

"Thanks, Hermione" Draco replied with a smile, which Hermione gladly returned before making her way make to her mother.

Entering Diagon Alley not much later, Draco knew his mother and father were wrong. Muggles were not evil, bad people. They were kind. They were intelligent. They were friendly. Much more friendly, in fact, then many of the wizards that frequented the manor. Draco knew that he would never be able believe his father's teachings. He could never believe such things about Hermione, his beauty. He could pretend to believe them, but he now knew the truth. He could pretend. He could pretend like the beast.

_8 Years Later_

Hermione Granger was having a terrible day. She had overslept and missed breakfast. She'd forgotten a quill and had to borrow a spare from Harry. Worse, the Gryffindors had just finished double potions with the Slytherins. Like always, Draco Malfoy had been his usual arrogant self and insulted her at every chance.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't see the person in front of her until she crashed into them.

"I'm so sorry. I should have -" Hermione began to apologize until she recognized the platinum blond hair of Draco Malfoy.

"Watch where you're going, Granger. Now I've got your filth all over me." Draco replied with a smirk as he picked himself up.

Gathering her books, Hermione left without a reply. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Malfoy again today. She just wanted to head back to the dorm and rest.

After curling up in her favorite chair closest to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione began to dig through her bag for her Ancient Ruins book when she came upon a book she didn't recognize. As she pulled it out and read the title, she gasped in shock. This was her book, but she hadn't seen it in years. Not since she gave it to a little boy in the park when she was a child.

Opening the book, she found her name written on the inside cover exactly where she had written it when she was eight years old. As she began to leaf through the pages, a piece of parchment slid into her lap. Unfolding it, she began to read:

_Dear Beauty,_

_I apologize for keep your book for so long. At the time you gave it to me, I thought I would never see you again. You were a muggle and I a pureblood, defying my parents and visiting the muggle world that was strictly prohibited. When I could escape, I'd visit the park a couple hours at a time, but you never returned. I should have returned it when we started Hogwarts, but I was afraid. I was suppose to hate you. We were enemies, sorted into two house that had a long standing rivalry. Once more, you were a muggleborn. That along gave me a reason to hate you. I was taught you were an abomination. Lower than human. But how could I hate you? How could I hate the one person that changed my life? The one person that saved me from believing my delusional father's crazy teachings. So I became like the beast. I pretended to be evil. I pretended to hate you when all I really wanted was to be your friend._

_I must also apologize for the condition of the book. I tried as best as I could to keep it in the condition you gave it to me, but it has been read many times. Often when I needed to remember our day at the park, I would read this book. It reminded me of you every time and the important lesson you unknowingly taught me. I wish things could have been different. I wish I could have been different. I wish I could have been your friend. I'm tired of being the beast. I wish I could tell you how I feel, but I've hurt you too many times. You will reject me and you will hate me so I must continue being the beast. _

_Thank you for everything, my Beauty. I hope one day you can see the prince within me._

_Sincerely, _

_The Beast_

Finishing the note, Hermione smiled to herself as she turned to page one. Maybe Draco Malfoy wasn't what he seemed. She missed the boy she met at the park all those years ago. He was smart and kind, so different from the beast Draco had become. Maybe that boy still existed within him and all he needed was the acceptance and love of his beauty.

A/n: Thanks for reading. I'm not sure how much I really like it, but I thought I would post it anyway. Please review and let me know what you thought. Thanks.


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